Time is up for luxury watchmaker

This Italian jewellery group and watchmaker is in the wars. It has just reported an 89 per cent fall in fourth quarter profits and a savage cut in the dividend.

The company made little effort to hide the scale of the problems, with the chief executive Francesco claiming: “It’s difficult to make any forecasts. The current crisis is huge and it’s global.”

It is debatable whether even with those comments he has really come to grips with the scale of the problems the group is facing.

The company is reviewing its entire network of 263 stores and has already identified four or five for closure; that sounds like a drop in the ocean. It also plans to cut jobs ‘significantly’ this year.

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